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Summary: Study of the home environment safety factors. Design
criteria research is aimed towards the home injuries prevention.
Development of the project data bases, such as: architectural ones
(existing building ordinances and standards for housing from 1967 to
1992), and medical ones: a. The home injuries related deaths official
statistics 1991-93. b. The Zagreb Clinic for Traumatism statistics on
hospitalized due to home injuries 1992-93. c. The Zagreb Children
Hospital (Institute for Mother and Child Health) statistics on child and
adolescent population hospitalized due to specific home injuries 1992-93.
Special inquiry forms with adequate software packages allow the linkage of
the injured person (activity, cause and type of injury), with the
architectural features that yielded the injury. Field research comprises
the architectural survey of randomly selected locations by type of
accident. Returns create the architectural survey reference library which
at the end allows the scientific evaluation of existing architectural
standards, design solutions, ordinances and housing building in Croatia.

Keywords: Architectural features of the safe housing environment, home injuries prevention.

Research goals: Project is aimed towards the interstices between
home injuries and the state-of-art in ordinances, standards and design of
housing. One fifth of accidental deaths in Croatia occurs at home. Death
rate for home injuries is 14.0 per 100.000 in 1989. Home related deaths
and injuries put a significant burden on public health and overall economy.
Scientific contribution is about to improve the safety of home
environment. The goal is to minimize home injuries by enhancing the safety
in codes, principles and philosophy of design. The resulting body of
knowledge could be attached to international scientific endeavors such as:
studies for Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization
(WHO) Global Program on Accident and Injury Control; Safe Community
Programs; International Conference on Injury Control etc. Other information about the project.